Ossie Schectman (center), the first player to score in NBA history, died on July 30 at age 94. / Jeff McIntosh, AP

by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

Oscar B. "Ossie" Schectman, the first player in NBA history to score a basket, died Tuesday at age 94, the NBA announced.

Schectman, who played one season for the New York Knicks, scored the basket in a game against the Toronto Huskies on November 1, 1946.

Born on March 20, 1919, Schectman grew up on New York's Lower East Side, where he and his friends, who didn't have the money to purchase a real basketball, often played with taped-together rags, using laundry baskets as hoops.

He won two National Invitational Tournament titles playing for Long Island University in 1939 and 1941, when the tournament was considered premier. After college, he played in various semipro leagues, including the South Philly Hebrew Association.

The 6-0 point guard played one season with the Knicks. He averaged 8.1 points and 2.0 assists a game in 1946-47.

Although Schectman is not a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, his importance is recognized by several other institutions. He has been inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the Long Island University Athletic Hall of Fame.